Looks Like We're Out of Snacks
by Starsoarer
Summary: "Hey, brat! Don't even think about touching that!" Rex doesn't resonate with the Aegis, and that made all the difference for someone else. AU, set in the main game.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – Defrost**

* * *

"Hey, brat! Don't even think about touching that!"

Rex's gloved finger, which was hovering dangerously close to the glowing emerald crystal centered in above the handle of what looked kind of like a Blade weapon in front him, snapped back.

"Oh, uh, sorry." He quickly put that same hand behind his head, backed away, before turning around. Rubbing his short brown hair, a sheepish smile crept onto his face and he let out a short laugh, both to cover his embarrassment and fear. That Malos guy had sounded absolutely furious. "Didn't mean that."

"Just get away before you break something, kid." Malos stormed into the room past him, scowling. His Blade, Sever, lurked close behind and let out a sinister hissing chuckle as he stalked past.

Rex complied and moved away, feeling awkward. His boot schlepped into a bit of cloud sea sludge built up on the metal floor as Malos started circling the capsule in the center of the room. His eyes flicked back to the red sword's emerald crystal. He was sure it had been pulsing when he nearly touched the thing, but it was just glowing dully now.

He hadn't imagined it. Right?

The sound of two sets of boots and a set of paws on the metal floor signaled the entrance of the other members of their boarding party into the open chamber. He turned to see Jin, Dromarch and a wide-eyed Nia slowly entering into the room.

"Wow!" Nia was peering closely at the sword and the red-haired young woman in the capsule behind it. "Never seen anything like it before."

"It is extraordinary," Dromarch agreed. The white, tiger-like beast Blade flicked a white-furred paw over one of his ears.

Rex stepped to the side as Jin went up to Malos, discussing something in voices too low for him to hear. He turned to the gormotti girl, raising one eyebrow, confused. "Wait, so you didn't know what you were coming to get?"

Nia flicked her nose in annoyance and set a hand on her hip. "'Course I knew! But just because I knew what it was supposed to look like doesn't make it any less impressive."

"So it's kinda like when you're salvaging, then. You know, 'Open a chest, it might be great. Until then it's just a crate.'"

"What's that supposed to be?"

Rex grinned. "Rule four of the Salvager's Code. So, even if you know what you're going to pull up out of the cloud sea, it can still surprise you in a good way, right?"

He saw Nia's cat-like ears flatten, and her eyes rolled. Was she annoyed? Unimpressed? He didn't know her well enough to tell. "You know I've only heard about this code of yours twice, but I think I'm already sick of it. Do all salvagers have a one track mind like you?"

"W-well," Rex stammered. "I mean, not _all_ of us, no. But I mean, come on. I do it for a living, lady. What did you expect?"

"Honestly, I don't know." She turned to the two men by the capsule and called out, "Jin, do we need him for anything else?"

The masked man turned to her. "No. He's done everything we needed him for. It's best that he doesn't concern himself with anything that happens after this."

An ear-grating screech of metal vibrated his teeth, and Rex, Nia and Dromarch tensed, hands going to their respective weapons, readying for another monster attack.

But it was just Malos tearing the _entire_ capsule with the red-haired woman inside out of its socket. His eyes widened as the black-haired man swung the whole thing back – which had to be taller than his already impressively tall frame –and balanced it on to his shoulder. Pipes that had been attached to the capsule spat out unknown fluids and steam, spilling onto the floor like blood.

His eyes widened. That was…

…Awesome! Just how strong was this Malos guy? Did all Drivers have strength like that? Would he be able to do stuff like that if he became one?

"Oi!" Nia shouted, snapping him out of his reverie. "At least give us a little warning if you're planning on doing something like that! Nearly gave us a heart attack."

Malos scoffed. "Yeah, whatever. Nia, go up ahead and call the _Monoceros_. We've got what we came for."

Rex saw her ears flatten a little. She looked like she might make a retort, before she let out a huff, turned on the spot and stomped out. Dromarch inclined his head toward them in a small bow before padding out after her.

"So, what exactly is she, anyways? Rex asked. "The girl in the capsule, I mean. And that sword; is it some sort of Blade weapon?"

Malos eyed him coolly. "None of your damn business, brat. Just follow us back to the deck and you and the others will get the rest of your pay."

Rex narrowed his eyes. "If you don't want me to know, you could've just told me. You don't have to be so rude about it."

Malos simply let out a 'hmph,' and started walking. As he passed by it, he kicked the red sword so hard that it flew out of its pedestal and slammed into the wall, _shattering_. The expression, the smirk on his face was so vindictive. Sever let out another hissing chuckle and followed after Malos.

What was that all about, anyways?

Rex laced his hands behind his head and started following, noting that Jin fell into step behind him. Rex was just a salvager. Just 'hired help.' A door opener. Maybe it wasn't his place to think about it.

Oh well. 'Least he had the prospect of another hundred grand to think about once this job was over.

* * *

The first thing she became aware of was the cold.

It wasn't the type of cold that came from the wind chilling bare skin, or the freezing cold of harsh winters. This was a cold so numbing, that if she didn't know better, felt almost warm.

She opened her eyes, and was met with harsh light, and instinctively she shut them. But in that brief moment, she had caught the sight of lush green grass, and of course, the bright sunlight.

It made no sense to her given how cold she was. Shouldn't there at least be snow to be this cold? Even the sun didn't seem to have any effect on the chill.

It was…difficult to make her limbs move the way she wanted them to. Or move at all. They were so stiff, like she hadn't moved them for a very long time. She slowly, painstakingly, curled into ball, huddled in on herself in an attempt for warmth that didn't come.

Then, she became aware of the incessant tolling of a bell.

Over and over and over.

She didn't know how long she lay there, shivering uncontrollably, listening to the ringing of the bell. Her mind felt so sluggish, struggling to form coherent thoughts, much less retrieve the memories that could tell her how she'd gotten into this situation. A part of her just wanted to rest.

So…c-cold.

The bell kept on tolling.

Never stopping.

There were footsteps rustling through the grass, slowly getting louder, closer.

 _Haze would probably be scared silly right now._

She didn't know why that thought went through her mind. Nor could she distinctly remember who 'Haze' was. Instead of being scared at the approaching stranger, she was just cold.

A warm hand cupped her cheek and she instinctively leaned into it, seeking the heat. True warmth, not the numbing kind from the cold she had been feeling.

"Lora."

The memory of her name cinched into place. Her name was Lora. Something prickled on the edges of her memory. Running. Explosions. A man with silvery-white hair. A horrible wrenching where her heart should be.

Lora opened her eyes, slowly this time, squinting at the bright sunlight.

Her view resolved into a young woman kneeling beside her. Short red hair – wasn't her own hair a slightly duller shade of red? – fluttered in a sudden soft breeze. She was smiling. Below her face, affixed to her sternum, a glowing emerald crystal pulsed. A name attached to that image bubbled to the surface of her mind.

"M-Mythra?" Lora's mouth quivered, making her jaw ache as she spoke, teeth chattering. Even as she spoke it, something about that name didn't seem right. Didn't fit.

"No." The smile on young woman who wasn't Mythra turned sad, and she shook her head slowly. Forlornly. "No, she's still sleeping. Please, call me Pyra."

Another involuntary shiver ran up her spine. "Why am I s-so cold?"

She felt Pyra pick her up, and draw her closer, cradling her head over her shoulder, hugging her. "I'm not entirely sure. We aren't directly in contact, but I can tell that your real body is currently frozen. But…it shouldn't have an effect on how you mind perceives itself here."

Her eyes scrunched in confusion. Her skin prickled painfully while it got used to the idea of being warm again. "My real body? I don't…what do you mean?"

She heard Pyra sigh. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but clinically, you're dead. Or at least you should be. But, you're here, which means even if it's been significantly slowed, your mind is somehow still active enough to participate in this dreamscape. Somehow, your soul is still there inside you after all these years."

Lora didn't know what to make of that response, but it felt right somehow, even though she didn't know why. For a long while she was in Pyra's arms, soaking up the heat. So, she was dead? Surprisingly, she didn't feel mad about that.

Though the cold never went away entirely – there was a spot in her chest around her heart that remained freezing, no matter what – it receded enough that she could feel her limbs again. She stopped shivering uncontrollably.

Carefully, she looked around at the landscape, noting that the grass she'd been lying on was part of a large hill. Atop it, a lone tree. Slowly, carefully, she slid out of the embrace. Steadying herself by leaning on Pyra, she stood.

Pyra looked at her worryingly, and placed her hand bracingly on her back. "Are you sure you should be standing yet?"

Lora nodded, giving a small reassuring smile. "Thanks, but I'll manage. It can't be worse than being dead, right?" A small shiver went through her body, and she tucked her hands under her armpits. Not the most dignified thing ever, but she found herself not caring. Despite being warmer now, she was still cold.

The hole in her chest still refused to get warm.

She looked around more, and saw that the field around her seemed to stretch on forever into the horizon. There were buildings, dotting the landscape. None of it looked familiar. "Where are we, anyways, Pyra? The afterlife?"

Pyra shook her head. "No. This is Elysium. Or rather, what I remember it to be like. It's where Mythra and I were born."

"Elysium? What's- ugh!" She clutched her head as a shot of pain lanced through it.

"Are you alright?"

Lora winced, but gave Pyra a bracing smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. It's just…"

She trailed off. Like so many other things right now, she couldn't place how or why they were familiar. She shook her head. "Sorry. I'm having trouble remembering much. My mind still feels like it's trying to move through ice, you know?"

A complicated set of emotions ran over Pyra's face. Her hand hovered over the emerald crystal on her sternum. It pulsed slightly. "If you want, I can help you. Give you another chance. I can give you half of my life force, half of my core. It can act as your missing heart, even eventually repair it."

"My…missing heart?" The cold in her chest seemed to sharpen. Lora's hand carefully went to her neck and pressed two fingers against the side. She waited. And felt nothing.

No pulse.

The ice in her head cracked.

Fragments of memories rushed through. Spessia, Addam's militia camp, the overwhelming attack by Indoline forces. Being separated from Haze and Mikhail.

Jin.

Oh, _Jin._

She had no heart, because she allowed Jin to take it. To become a Flesh Eater Blade so he wouldn't revert back to his core after she'd been fatally wounded.

So he could keep his memories of her.

She took a shuddering breath. The grass scratching against her cheek told her she was on the ground again. Pyra stood worriedly near her.

"Jin is still alive, isn't he?" She could feel it. That deep seated connection between Driver and Blade, thrumming. Alive.

Cold. Colder than it ever was.

"If I accept your offer, I could see him again?"

Pyra nodded, helping her to her feet again. "Yes." She hesitated a moment. "But…in return, I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"Take me to Elysium, the real one at the top of the World Tree."

"Why there?"

Pyra hesitated, as if looking for the right words. "I want to see it, at least once. With my own eyes. And to meet with Father. With the Architect."

The bell tolled again. Mournful.

If she could even just _see_ Jin again, it would be worth it. Lora nodded. "Alright. I'll do it."

* * *

Mikhail blinked as something splashed onto his cheek. He brought his gloved hand up, dabbed at it and found the liquid clear. Water?

He glanced around, trying to see the source, but didn't immediately spot anything above him that would be leaking water. Plenty of systems that could leak coolants, ether fuel, and plenty of other oils, but not water.

Another drop landed on his face, this time on his forehead.

Crap. Was there a slow leak somewhere in the _Marsanes_? He checked his mental map of the warship. Above was the docking area for the _Monoceros_. Maybe the seal on the airlock wasn't as tight as it should be? Nah, he'd just checked that last month.

Of course,even if that _was_ the problem, he wasn't sure if he would have the time fix it anyways. Once he made a couple more minor adjustments to the _Marsanes_ , he was scheduled to head over to Mor Ardain's Factory to inspect and pick up the Blade Bots. And of course, rendezvous with the lovely Patroka after she was done core crystal hunting.

He knew Jin, Malos and Nia just recently docked, hopefully with the Aegis. Had they messed up something while docking? No, that shouldn't be possible. The _Monoceros'_ autopilot took over for that procedure. Even Nia couldn't mess that up. Not that anyone in their right mind would let her drive.

So what was it then?

Another drop of water, larger this time, landed. Mikhail wiped it off his face irritably and called up to the deck above. "Yo, Cressidus!"

The sound of something heavy clunked onto the metal of the bridge of the _Marsanes_ above him, and the hulking figure of his humanoid Blade poked his head over the side of the walkway overhead. "Yeah, what is it, pal?"

"You didn't accidentally break something and not tell me, right, buddy?"

His Blade shook his head vehemently. "No, I wouldn't do that to you! Why are you asking, anyways?"

"You see anything leaking up there?"

His Blade ducked back to check. A long, agonizing moment passed, followed by another drop of water.

The big Blade poked his head over the walkway again. "Uh, you might want to see this for yourself, buddy."

Well, if that wasn't ominous, he didn't know what was. Mikhail quickly shut the panel to the mechanism he had been working on, and rushed over to the lift to the floor above. Cressidus raised his arm, pointing out the...leak.

Mikhail's eyes widened. The hell?

Behind the central console that operated the _Marsanes,_ the tall cone of ice where Lora's body was kept suspended upright was still resting in its usual place, frozen to absolute zero temperatures by Jin. The makeshift coffin had stood there for centuries, but now, it was melting. A small trail of water led from the bottom, dripping over the edge of the upper deck of the bridge, down to where he had been.

He looked back to the ice and his heart nearly burst out of his chest. Lora's eyes were open, staring right at him.

 _The hell?!_

He had just enough time to properly freak out before a massive pillar of flame burst through the ceiling, obscuring the whole thing in a raging inferno. It would probably have melted him too, if Cressidus hadn't body tackled him away from it, raising his ether shield to cover them both.

An alarm sounded, followed by the hissing of fire retardant chemicals hissing out of their compartments. The air on the bridge became thick with hot steam from sublimated ice, making it difficult to make much of anything out.

"You alright, Mik?" Cressidus asked, moving off of him and carefully hauling him to his feet with far more care than his huge stature would indicate.

"Yeah, I'll live, big guy. Any idea what that was?"

"Nope. You think that icicle lady is alright after that?"

The answer to his answer came in the form the sound of shaky footsteps coming closer. Through the steam came an impossibility.

The silhouette resolved into her. The woman who had been dead for nearly five hundred years. The woman who may as well have become his family, even in the short time he'd known her. For a moment, he was kid again, standing alone in the smoldering ruins of a village he couldn't even remember the name of anymore.

There were so many different things he wanted to say. He opened his mouth. Closed it. He thought he might cry one moment, and at the same time he nearly wanted shout at her for leaving him, even if it wasn't her fault. Baggage he'd spent decades sifting through, before laying them to rest was involuntarily hauled to the forefront of his mind.

No matter how much you tried, a dead woman wouldn't talk back.

And yet…

"Lora?" he called hesitantly. Did his voice seriously just crack? If this was a dream, it was a cruel one.

She reached out to him, taking another shaky step forward. She faltered, and he saw her legs buckle out from underneath her. He rushed forward, catching her in his arms before she could collapse onto the hard metal floor. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp.

But she was breathing. By the Architect, she was _breathing._

How?

The bridge shook, and his head jerked up to the massive hole now in the ceiling of the bridge. He could hear what sounded like fighting up above. What was going on up there?

* * *

 **A/N:** **Because Lora deserves better.**

 **Maybe a bit of a stretch, but I dunno. What do you guys think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – Eternity Ends in a Moment**

* * *

"No parting is forever, Rex. If the flow of the ether wills it, we will surely meet again."

"No…" Rex could only watch as horror as Gramps closed his eyes and started dissolving into base ether in front of him. His hand went through the old Titan's slowly dissipating form, leaving a slight smudge of ether on his glove. After a moment, even that faded. "No, Gramps!"

He wasn't crying.

His blurring vision and the wetness on his cheek disagreed.

 _He wasn't crying!_

The involuntary sob that escaped out of him said otherwise.

No, you know what? Screw it! He worked for a living, same as any adult worth their salt. Adults could cry if they wanted to. So he let himself fall to his knees, uncaring of the swamp water mixed with some cloud sea fluff that splashed up onto his face, mixing in with the stupid tears.

He closed his eyes, remembering.

The capsule with the young woman had been loaded up onto the ship, the same one he'd seen in Argentum's port, the same one he'd spotted following them. The ship that Malos had called the _Monoceros_.

Job done, he'd headed back to the _C.S.E.V._ _Maelstrom_ , under the direction of their employers.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Malos had attacked. Under Driver and Blade's barrage, the _Maelstrom_ hadn't stood a chance, especially once something critical exploded.

Though he hadn't really questioned _how_ at the time, Gramps had flown in, blasting the deck of the ancient ship with balls of flame, distracting Malos long enough to allow time for him to get on and escape.

Of course he'd jumped on. Who wouldn't? But when he'd reached for another one of the salvagers Gramps had started flying away.

" _Wait what are you doing? We have to go back, have to rescue them! Turn around, Gramps!"_

" _And risk being killed yourself, my boy? I'm already struggling as it is to escape their turrets, and you want me to face them and fall in the process?"_

" _But…!"_

" _Enough!"_

Rex had winced as another blast from the turret of the Monoceros hit its mark, holding on for dear life as Gramps had bucked at a sharp angle to one side to avoid another shot.

" _What's done is done."_

As if to drive it home, the Maelstrom had let off one final explosion, before sinking beneath the clouds.

It wasn't fair.

He wasn't sure how long he knelt there in that ankle deep water. A bit of cloud sea fluff built up around him, tickling exposed bare skin.

Why did they do it? What reason could they possibly have had to justify killing all those innocent people? Even Nia, the most likable of the lot, had had looked on from the _Monoceros_ and let it happen. Horrified, maybe, but as far he'd seen she hadn't done anything to try and stop it. She'd just let it happen.

There were people on the Maelstrom, just salvagers like him, trying to live their lives. Spaine, Monell and even Pupunin, who had stowed away onboard. They were people he had known, worked with even. Some had families waiting for them back in Argentum, back on other Titans.

He should have never taken that job.

He shut his eyes, turning away as the last light of dissipating ether that once was the Titan he called 'Gramps' finally faded entirely.

"Gramps…"

It just wasn't fair.

A small sploosh of water sent his heart rate spiking and he stood, spinning about, looking for the source of the sound. He took a moment to try and clear his vision, wiping his face with his wet arm. It was only slightly effective at clearing his vision.

He started backing up towards where…where Gramps had been, hand hovering over the hilt of his broadsword. Was the wildlife here to try and take advantage of his lowered guard? He glanced about and saw nothing. He strained his ears, listening closer.

Oddly, not even the buzz of insects greeted him.

He took another hesitant step, back. He let out a cry of surprise as his ankle twisted when his boot slipped onto something uneven in the water. He flailed wildly for a moment in a futile attempt to regain his balance, before he ungracefully flopped backwards into the muck, butt landing hard, digging painfully into something.

He quickly rolled off of it, digging the offending object out of the water intent on chucking the thing. He stopped.

Rocks didn't typically look like that, right? All black and fancily designed and stuff? He peered at it closer, squinting his eyes. Wait, no. He'd seen something like this before. The design and distinct shape clicked into place with a memory.

Was this a…core crystal?

Had Gramps left him this somehow? He'd only seen pictures of them in books Auntie Corrine had lent him, but at the time he was generally more interested in the Blades themselves. He tilted his head. Weren't core crystals supposed to be glowing blue or something?

He almost reflexively went to ask Gramps if he knew what it meant.

Stopped himself with his mouth partway open.

His hand tightened around the black core crystal, making the leather of his glove creak. His other hand lashed out at a nearby tree. The sudden pain in his wrist made him wish that he hadn't.

Why couldn't he do anything right?

No. He shook his head, dispelling the thought. Enough.

He took a shuddering breath, did his best to wipe away the remains of the tears, wipe away the snot from his stinkin' nose.

He needed to get ahold of himself. Another deep breath.

Malos would pay. He'd punch him in his stupid face if he could. Then have a drink with him when he was old enough. That was what salvagers were supposed to do, right? 'First have a punch-out, then drink to forget. Once you've forgotten, the friendship's all set.'

Right.

First things first. Though he desperately hoped it wasn't true, if he was the only survivor, people needed to know what happened. Otherwise it might just go into the books as another failed expedition into the uncharted regions of the cloud sea. Getting word back to Argentum and Chairman Bana would be as good a place to start as any.

That meant he needed to figure out where on Alrest he was. Slipping the core crystal into his pouch, he fumbled around a bit before bringing out his cloud sea compass. He fiddled with the dials, put in the date and…

He should be in Gormott. That made sense, given the huge root-like structures around him. And the tide was…

Oh no.

He was below the high tide line. And according to this, it would be rising soon.

He glanced up, and saw the tide already rushing towards him, _very quickly_.

"Oh, _titan's foot!"_

He took off running, glanced back and caught enough of a glimpse to know he was so _screwed_ if he didn't get to higher ground quick. Rex he took the first path that looked like it might go up or just _away_ from the wave _._

Of course, as he ran, his mind helpfully supplied that the reason he hadn't seen any wildlife or insects was because they had all gone into hiding from the encroaching tidal shift. He'd just been too busy mourning Gramps to see the signs.

Naturally, he didn't stand a chance.

He took a big gulp of air just before the force of the initial tide knocked him off of his feet, flipping end over end in the current a couple of times. After a moment, years of diving through the stuff – both recreationally and for a living – kicked in.

 _Find the fluff of the cloud sea. That will always be up. If you get caught in a wave, roll with it, don't fight it. Fighting it will be the quickest way to drown._

Of course, that was easier said than done. He snapped open his eyes, desperately searching for that fluff mixed with what would hopefully be a source of light.

 _There!_

He oriented himself and started swimming in that direction. He was pushed off balance when the current surged forward and rammed his shoulder painfully into a rock. In fact, the force of the current was making it nearly impossible to swim straight at all, knocking him into and the bruises started to pile up.

His lungs started to burn.

The current surged, pushing him forward. His eyes widened and with only a split second to do so, he contorted his body to slide through a narrow pass in the rocks ahead. He'd nearly made it through, but was yanked back. Looking behind him, he saw his broadsword snagged in-between two close fitting branches in the pass. He reached and desperately tried to untangle it, but couldn't make any headway.

He looked up at the cloud sea fluff getting further away, then back down. Nothing for it. He couldn't do anything much less fight if he drowned. He fumbled a moment, then forced the release latch on the weapon. He shot forward in the current, made a desperate grab for the sword.

Missed.

Well, maybe if he was lucky, someday he or someone else could salvage it. For now, he shot his grapple up. It dug into the rock above the surface and he toggled the reel.

Just when the edges of his vision started going dark, he surfaced, gulping in much needed air coughing and spitting out cloud sea fluff. The rock to either side of him creaked, shifting under the tide. That was a part of the Gormotti Titan moving,

It shifted just enough to loosen the anchor before he could find a better handhold in the rock, forcing him back under.

He had to find somewhere high enough on the Titan that he wouldn't be left out to drift in the cloud sea. It would be a horrible way to go, unable to do anything but watch as the Titan continued on its orbit around the World Tree without the slightest care that it'd left something behind.

At this rate, if he didn't find some outcropping or at least _something_ stable to latch onto, that's exactly what would happen. His energy surged. Surfacing again, his head whipped around, and in a glorious moment he spotted a nearby ledge above the tide.

Against the direction of the current.

He shot out his grapple again, and when it attached, the current yanked him back, wrenching his arm painfully and slamming him bodily against the rock. The grapple loosened, falling out of its anchor point again, but this time he had the presence of mind to get a good grip on the rock.

Bracing his body against the Titan's rocky wall, he sidled for what felt like hours – even if it couldn't have been more than a few minutes at most – until at last he hauled himself up onto the ledge.

He flopped out and lay flat on his back on the rock, just breathing heavily. His muscles were sore enough to remind him of that day he'd spent running priority business errands around Argentum.

"Well," he coughed up a little bit of the cloud sea stuck in his lungs and wiped his his eyes clear, "at least it can't get any worse from here, right?"

His heart leapt and he stiffened as a something nearby growled. He slowly shifted his eyes and spotted a lone volff on the other end of the outcropping, looking just as bedraggled as he was.

Him and his big mouth. Looks like he wasn't the only one caught unaware by the tidal shift.

 _Titan's foot._

* * *

Nia stormed past Jin down the boarding ramp of the _Monoceres_ as soon as it hit the dock, purposefully not looking at him and Malos. She stopped at the end, teeth clenching and feeling her ears flatten against her head. They still felt like they were ringing from all the screaming.

She needed to ask Jin why.

Malos' footsteps, heavy with the Aegis' capsule, came to rest behind her. "Got something to say, Nia?"

Her hands balled into fists, and she stalked way without a word, Dromarch padding after her.

"Slinking off to sulk?" She heard Malos let out a scoff. "How _original_."

The door to the interior of the _Marsanes_ shut automatically behind her and Dromarch, cutting them off from the other three.

They had already retrieved the Aegis. So why'd Jin let Malos do it? What was the point?

Her quick pace slowed to a crawl, before she stopped entirely, leaning onto and then collapsing in a heap against the wall.

"My lady, are you going to be alright?"

Great, now Dromarch was bloody worrying about her. She turned to face her approaching Blade. "I'll be okay, Dromarch." The smile she gave felt forced, even to her, and likely didn't look the least bit reassuring.

He padded up beside her, sat on his haunches and waited. A solid minute passed. A solid minute of her decidedly trying to avoid looking at those dilating tiger eyes of his.

She sighed. It would be easier to tell him now, rather than have him passive-aggressively pester her until she gave in. She always told him in the end anyways, and he knew that. "It's just, I never figured I'd be doing something like this."

"Are you perhaps thinking of leaving? You know I will follow wherever you go."

She scrunched up her knees, hugging them to her chest. Took a breath. "I-I don't know. I was…happy when Jin brought me into Torna. He rescued me, _us_ , from a life of misery." She shook her head. She didn't really want to think about what Indol was going to do to her before Jin broke her out. "And here, there are people like me, you know? They understand how I feel, what it's like, because they're like me."

She brought her hand up, hovering over but not touching her hidden core. She didn't say the word. Still couldn't bring herself to even think it yet. Wasn't that so pathetic? But the scars emotional and physical were still too fresh in her mind.

That was what she kept telling herself, at least.

' _Cannibal!'_

Dromarch nuzzled into her. "I think you should do what you think is best."

She let out a snort. "Only you would say something that sounds so profound, but does so little to help me." Sighing again, she leaned into him, scratching his fur. "I don't know. When I came here, for the first time I felt like I might have a place where I could belong. I think that's…still the case. Maybe I'll change my mind in the future, I dunno. But I don't really have anywhere else to go. For now, I'm here, so this is my home for better or worse."

 _Clap. Clap. Clap._

She jumped up to her feet at the sound.

Ahkos stepped into sight around the corner and his Blade, Obrona, floated lazily around him. "Well said Nia. I'll have you know that the rest of us feel much the same way." He adjusted those red rimmed prop glasses of his, because _of course_ he did.

She narrowed her eyes. "Haven't you heard that eavesdropping is rude?"

He smirked, raising an eyebrow. "I _was_ about to say hello, but well…" He shrugged. "How could I resist a good bit of melodrama?"

"Oi! Do you think my life is some kind of sideshow?"

Obrona floated in front of him. "Ooh, feisty!"

Ahkos batted her away. "Riveting commentary from the audience as usual, Obrona. But I have to wonder, Nia, why so introspectively glum in the first place?" He crossed his arms. "Did Malos give you a hard time while you were out collecting the Aegis?"

She averted her eyes. "Go ask him yourself if you're so curious."

"I was about to, before I nearly ran into someone brooding in the middle of the main hallway."

"Yeah, being a sourpuss!"

"Ugh, you know what? Never mind!" She cut off any further discussion and started walking away. "Come on Dromarch, we don't have to take this from-"

She stumbled as a rumble from shook the hallway, and an alarm started blaring a moment later. She spun back to Ahkos. "What was that?"

"The fire alarm," he deadpanned. "Mikhail may have broken something. Jin could be playing a prank. The World Tree could be collapsing. Or, perhaps the Architect himself is messing with us."

Nia gave him a look. "Are you seriously doing this right now?"

"It's an _alarm._ We only have one. Having more than one just made things confusing for some of us. Rules say we go to the dock when it sounds and, considering the timing, I'd say it's important enough to not ignore."

"Then stop standing around and let's go already!"

Ahkos made a mock bow gesturing in front of him, and Obrona gave a little applause. "Lead the way."

Those little…

She groaned and started running back the way she came.

 _Back to Jin._

* * *

Jin could only watch. Lora would have gone after Nia, rushed after her even, to at least try to comfort her right here, right now. But then, he wasn't Lora, and she wouldn't have approved of what he allowed to happen at all, would she?

So instead, he simply sent a _look_ at Malos as he watched Nia retreat past the door leading further into the _Marsanes._

Malos raised an eyebrow at his stare. "What?"

"Don't antagonize her. She's been through just as much hardship as the rest of us. Give her time."

"Whatever."

Nia knew what Torna stood for, but she didn't _understand_ the need for what they were doing _._ Not fully.

Her anger at covering their tracks by killing the salvaging crew was…understandable. But if any of them actually had the expertise and Leftherian blood, this wouldn't have been necessary.

Well, no, he reminded himself. _Mo_ _st_ of the salvaging crew had perished. Perhaps it was some trick of fate that had Azurda show up to rescue the Leftherian boy from the sinking, exploding _Maelstrom_. Even with the damage done to the old Titan by the _Monoceres'_ turrets, there was always a chance the pair could make landfall, and from there spread word of the massacre.

But even if that happened, it would only slow Torna down, not stop them.

Malos shrugged the shoulder holding the Aegis' capsule. "So, are we doing this or what, Jin?"

Jin blinked, and moved across the boarding ramp of the _Monoceros_ , and out of the way of Malos, who adjusted his grip on the capsule as he crossed the ramp. "Of course."

"Well," he slammed the capsule down, harder than necessary, on to the metal floor of the _Marsanes'_ docking area, "may as well do it right here and now. The sooner I get my full power back, the sooner we get our revenge on my bastard of a Driver and the Architect."

He popped the lid on the capsule, carelessly tossing it to the side where it cracked, but didn't shatter. The sleeping form of the Aegis lay open to the world after nearly five-hundred years.

Jin's hand twitched, clenched slightly.

Malos glanced towards him. "What is it?"

"It's nothing."

He cocked a disbelieving eyebrow. "You know, something tells me it's not."

He was right of course. "Just," he shot a meaningful look at the Aegis, "let me have a moment."

Malos shook his head, a small smirk on his face. "You're so sentimental." He backed away, gesturing to the open capsule. "Well, go ahead. I can wait a little longer. Say your farewells, since after all, there's no guarantee she won't be much more than a husk once I'm finished."

"…Right."

Malos turned away to give Jin privacy as he stepped up to the capsule; the sight reminded him of an open funeral casket. Fitting, he supposed.

Despite the atrocities she'd let happen by letting herself be sealed away, the Aegis had been once been his comrade. He may have never particularly liked her, but she hadn't deserved what had happened to her.

He knew the pain of losing someone he loved all too well himself. All five-hundred years of living with it.

Laying his hand near the Aegis' shoulder, he bowed his head a little and closed his eyes in a moment of remembrance.

 _For what little it's worth, I'm sorry._

His felt his thumb brushed over the Aegis' core. Lora's heart _thumped_ in his chest and his eyes shot open, vision blurry.

He caught a momentary flare of light from the emerald core, so short he could have imagined it. He took one careful yet quick step back.

"Something wrong?"

Jin's hand went to the spot where Lora's heart rest in his chest. "I'm…not sure." A warmth, a thrum he hadn't felt in forever. The connection between a Driver and Blade, a slight tug in the ether, so small. It lasted for only an instant.

But of course, he was just imagining it. Wishing for something that would never happen again.

He had to be.

Malos crossed his arms, giving him a careful stare. "You know, I can delay this for a while if you need me to. It'll make any fights we encounter more difficult, but I don't _need_ my full power until we're ready to ascend the World Tree."

"Patience? From you?"

Malos spread his arms in a gross approximation of a shrug. "What can I say? Nearly dissolving into base ether gives a man a lot of time to reflect on their life choices. It took a lot of patience to put myself together after that. I can wait a little longer."

"No, that's unnecessary. No point in taking any chances."

"Well, if you're sur-"

He cut off as emerald green light shot up from open capsule.

Instinct kicked in as the world seemed to slow to a crawl around Jin as he sped up, putting a sizable amount of distance between him and the pillar of flame that burst from the Aegis' resting place. His hand came to rest on the hilt of his nodachi, but he didn't draw it just yet.

Sever had dashed in front of Malos, ether shield up and taking the most of the blaze. Malos drew his tonfa, a smirk growing on his face.

An alarm started blaring as steam billowed up from a hole the pillar of flame had melted into the docking area. Through the steam, the glowing emerald core of the Aegis became visible.

An x-shaped part of it was now missing, where not thirty seconds ago it had been whole.

He grimaced as Lora's heart pulsed again, painfully hot this time. Another thrum of an ether link briefly flickering to life before cutting out again.

Malos glanced at him. "Jin?"

He pushed the sensation away with a shake of his head. Just his mind playing cruel tricks. "I'm fine."

"Hey." Jin jerked back when a hand landed on his shoulder. Malos gave him a concerned look. "Take it easy for once. I'll take this."

Jin hesitated, then nodded.

" _Malos._ "

The red Blade weapon Malos had shattered on the Ancient Ship took shape and flared alive with fire ether. A pale imitation of the light it once was. The Aegis stepped through the steam into view, her eyes narrowed. "I should have known you weren't dead."

"And I thought you were blond." Malos stalked casually forward, Sever behind him, establishing an ether link, igniting the blade of the tonfa. He was putting himself in-between Jin and the Aegis. A nice, if unnecessary gesture. "Cut and dyed your hair recently?"

Her lips pursed into a thin line, and she slashed in a wide horizontal arc with her sword, sending a blaze of fire ether ahead of her, before darting forward with the torrent of flame.

Malos batted the fire away into the wall where the metal sizzled and dripped. He laughed. "Ooh, did I hit a nerve? My bad." The ether link between him and Sever surged as Malos slashed his tonfa in an uppercut, and a blade of wind ether lashed out from it towards her.

The Aegis easily sidestepped the attack – which cut a small line into the metal wall behind her, making something in the machinery spark – and rushed forward, closing the remaining distance. They traded a quick trio of blows, ending with their blades locked, ether sparking.

"So do you have a Driver this time, or did you wise up like me and forget nonsense like that?"

She didn't answer, but her eyes darted past Malos, over to him, widening momentarily when they met. Jin stared back unflinchingly.

Malos took advantage of the momentary distraction, shifting his tonfa into a shield before thrusting it forward. Backed with a surge of wind ether, it ended the deadlock by sending the Aegis airborne. She quickly twisted midair flipping upright, landing crouched.

"Well, not bad. Not bad at all. I was wondering if you were just going to let me restore my core without some kind of fight. Thanks for making it interesting for me, _partner_."

* * *

When the automatic door blasted open, Mikhail had to stop to take a double take. Saying the _Marsanes_ docking area was in bad shape was an understatement. Beyond the opening, chaos reigned in the form of Malos fighting...was that the Aegis?

It was just one blast from the past after another today, wasn't it?

A blade of sharp wind ether rippled by him, cutting the wall nearby and slicing open the paneling. He danced to the side before an arc of lightning sparked from the busted machinery, nearly hitting him. Startled out of his thoughts, he stepped forward.

"Are you all insane?!" Neither of the Aegises stopped fighting to listen. He turned to the others gathered near the entrance. "Ahkos, Nia, why aren't you trying to stop them?"

Nia put a hand on her hip. "Do you really expect us to try and get involved in that?"

The all split, moving out of the way of a redirected fireball.

"That's not the issue!" Mikhail retorted. "If you hadn't noticed, we're submerged under the cloud sea right now. It they punch a hole in the hull, we _all_ become salvager food!"

"A prudent point. Ah well. It was a nice show while it lasted." Ahkos adjusted his glasses as he turned to his Blade. "Obrona, if you would?"

"Yeah, yeah." His Blade floated higher into the air, her wing-like appendages spreading as a massive wave of red ether exploded outward.

The combatants lurched, stopping in the middle of their attacks when the wave hit them, choking the ether out of their weapons.

Malos jumped back from a strike from the Aegis, even though it was far less deadly without the ether in her weapon amplifying the strike. He turned toward the group gathered at the entrance scowling. "Ahkos, what are you doing?"

"Do you _want_ to punch a hole that sends us to the bottom of the cloud sea?" Mikhail gestured around the damage that he'd and the Aegis had done. This would take _forever_ fix and even more to diagnose what was still fully operable.

The Aegis' eyes widened and she stepped back, her hand hovering over her core crystal as she looked around. Was she really _just now_ noticing the destruction she was causing? Was the alarm blaring really not clue enough?

Malos looked like he going to retort before Jin zipped forward in front of him, cutting off the response. "Malos, enough. Mikhail is right."

Malos shrugged, stepping back, keeping a close eye on the Aegis. She did so in turn, but Mikhail could tell she was also keeping a close eye on everyone else in the room.

The alarm still blared, filling in an awkward pause.

Jin turned to him. "What's the situation?"

"It's her, Jin. She's awake. Lora's awake."

* * *

Her heart thumped in his chest. Not possible.

But Jin's mouth still asked, "Where?"

Mikhail pointed down, through the hole in the dock. "She's down with Cressidus on the bridge- whoa!"

The world slowed as he sped up again, feet moving with a mind of their own. He jumped through the still smoldering hole to save time.

Mikhail's Blade startled when he landed, returning to normal speed. He was shielding something away from him. "Jin! Man, you scared me dropping in through the ceiling like that. Did you come to check on the icicle lady?"

Jin's eyes flicked to where Lora should be. The hole to the dock was directly above where she should be. "Where is she?"

Mikhail's Blade flinched at his tone, but shifted around, and in his arms was holding…

…her. Her chest rose, fell. Breathing.

Not possible.

She was right in front of him.

No. He took a half step back. This wasn't real.

 _But she was right in front of him._

The next moment he'd pushed Cressidus away, cradling her in his arms. On instinct, he sent out an ether link. Like it had never left, it connected to her instantly, the air in-between them shimmering as it thrummed to life. Hot, almost burning.

He felt her shiver as her eyes fluttered open, darting around a moment before they locked on to his.

"…Lora."

She blinked again, her arm reached up to cup his cheek with one hand. She opened her mouth. Spoke.

"It's really you, Jin."

He covered her hand with his. Felt the warmth of her skin when it came in contact with his. This…this was real. He felt her thumb brush against his mask, the one she had made for him so many years ago.

"You kept it?" she asked.

"Of course."

She smiled, then averted her eyes. "I'm sorry."

He pressed her closer into a hug. "It's not your fault." After a moment, her arms wrapped around him.

Lora, was here, alive.

But…her death was the impetus for his campaign against the world with Malos. He knew she wouldn't approve, would try to talk him out of it. Maybe even hate him for it.

…What did he do now?

No. He hugged her tighter. She pressed her head against his chest.

For now, this moment with her was enough.

* * *

 **A/N: And nothing else bad ever happened.**

 **;P**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3** **– Connection**

* * *

 **[Edit 03/11/12]: Originally, there was just an implied time skip in Lora's section of this chapter. Note that the events surrounding Rex and Lora are happening at different times, and Lora's is more than a week ahead of Rex's. A small bit of dialogue was added to make that clearer. Unfortunately, this sort of timeline buggery happens when you don't have exact plans for your story, but, so it goes. Enjoy!**

* * *

Out of everything that could, in the end, after everything he'd been through, it was his leg that gave out first.

Rex cried out as it buckled out from under him, sending him pitching forward face-first on to the wooden walkway. He stayed there, sprawled out as the fierce rain from the ongoing thunderstorm pelted his already soaked form. It wasn't just his leg, though. His well…everything hurt.

A bright flash of lightning and the sharp peal of thunder afterwards brought his wits back to him. He braced his hand on a nearby building, painstakingly pulling himself back to standing.

He tried to ignore the pain of his hastily bandaged arm, his sharp headache – whether from dehydration or something else – that pounded in his skull. The pain felt like it might be being lessened by the rain lashing down in a torrent of…wetness? That was the word for it, right?

Whatever. He was soaked.

He started off again, slower now, limping slightly, but he must not have been paying enough attention. By the time he saw a figure in a dark rain cloak rush by, he couldn't react fast enough to move out of the way. He staggered as they bumped into him and made him hiss in pain. At least he caught himself this time before he fell.

"Whoops, sorry!"

He turned to where they were, catching a glimpse underneath the drawn hood. A girl with bluish hair and a wicked looking blue – glowing? – eyepatch.

"No, it's-"

But they had already rushed off.

"…fine," he finished lamely.

Probably focused on getting out of the rain. He glanced about. While there were certainly still lights on inside buildings, there wasn't anyone else in sight outside that he could see. Torigoth would normally be bustling, even at this time of night. Or at least, that's how it had been the last – and only – time he'd briefly been here.

The thunderstorm raged on and he forced himself to start walking again, trying ignore the extent of his injuries: bruises and small cuts that still ached from his tumble in the cloud sea tide and driving off a volff, then pushing himself too hard to try and get here before dark.

He glanced up at the stormy night sky. That part had failed, but at least his destination finally came into sight.

He sent a silent prayer to the Architect. _Come on, come on, please still be open._

 _Gormott Public Communications Terminals_

His eyed moved down the sign hung in the window.

 _[Closed]_

"Oh, come on!" He pressed his face to the window to peer inside, but it was completely dark within. No signs of anyone lingering for cleaning or anything. Ugh, he should have known better. Of course, they were already closed; it was nearing the middle of the stinkin' night. That didn't stop him from gritting his teeth in frustration, fists clenching, making the gloves squelch with the still falling rain.

Wasn't there something he could do?

Another flash of lightning illuminated a tall structure nearby to the north. If he was remembering right, that was the Mor Ardain Consulate building. They'd have something he could use to get in contact with the guild, right?

…Would they even take him seriously?

Maybe he could he sneak in? His vision swam and he shook away the thought, hearing Gramps chiding voice.

 _Don't be getting any funny ideas,_ _Rex._ _You can stand to wait until morning._

Gah. He hated it when Gramps was right, even if he wasn't actually…

He took a deep breath. Let it out. He couldn't keep doing that.

He blinked rapidly as another flash of lightning _crashed_ into a lightning rod built on top of a building in view in the lower residential district, lighting up its interior. The near instantaneous rumble of thunder shook his bones and made his ears ring.

The sounds of maniacal laughter that followed were clearly his part of his overacting imagination.

Whatever. There was no point hanging around in the rain anymore, especially if the lightning was striking that close. Alrest waited for no one, least of all him it seemed.

After a brief, yet seemingly endless hard walk, he stumbled up the steps to Torigoth's inn, thankfully still open at this unwieldly time of night. He pushed open the door, and called out a simple, slightly hoarse, "Hey."

The gormotti innkeeper, who was reading a book, marked her page. "Welcome to the Coedwig Inn. What can I-"

She cut off as their eyes focused in on him and widened, hand going to her mouth. He really couldn't blame her reaction, since he probably looked like a washed up Titanship. He felt like some of the slimy gunk that came up in some of the dingier crates he'd salvaged.

Jumping off her stool, she hurried around the front counter. "Are you alright there? Ah, what am I saying, course you aren't alright. You looked like you've picked a fight with a gogol after falling into the cloud sea or something."

"Um, yeah, something like that." A volff, actually. He tried not to think of the blood and bits of the volff he'd had to clean out of the retractable spikes on his boots after the brutal struggle.

"Here, just a moment." She disappeared further inside.

He stood awkwardly in the entryway, dripping profusely onto the carpet. Actually, come to think of it, he _had_ run from a pack of gogols while coming to Torigoth. But that was just one of many things he'd had to run from after making his way up the Gormotti Titan to areas not flooded by the cloud sea. One thing after another. It sort of blended together.

Thinking back on it, it was ridiculous that he was still standing at all. His head and injuries pounded in agreement.

The innkeeper reappeared around the corner and made a _tsk,_ tossing a towel his way, which he gratefully accepted, drying off his hair and face. "Frankly, you look like you could use a healer, not just a good place to sleep. And don't try to deny it." He caught her muttering, "Honestly. _Boys_ your age."

He stepped forward, stumbling as he protested weakly. "Hey, I work for a living, you know."

"Mmhmm." She sounded like she didn't believe him or maybe didn't care. His stumbling probably hadn't helped his case.

"Ah, whatever." Rex shook his head, and the motion made his headache pulse. He tried to blink it away. "So do you have a room? Actually, no, wait. Maybe a communication console I can use? I need to get in contact with the Argentum-"

He stopped. His hand had been reaching for his pouch to get money. He patted the area again, and came up empty. It wasn't there.

"Something wrong?"

His pouch wasn't there. Along with his gold, the core crystal, and a good chunk of what he owned.

"Oh, no, no, _no._ "He double checked, triple checked but it was definitely gone. He turned towards the door but his vision swam, more furious this time. Staggering, he clutched his throbbing head. His other hand went out to try and catch something, but it the soaked glove slipped off the wall and he fell once more face-first onto wood.

…Ow.

The sounds of muffled rain and the shouting gormotti woman started to fade. Rex closed his eyes. The wooden flooring was hard, but it was comfortable enough for now. He'd just close his eyes for a moment, then he could…

Could…

* * *

He woke lying on a pillow. Blinking, Rex tried to remember how he got into a bed.

Oh.

He slowly pushed himself to a sitting position, even though his body protested. Right. He'd collapsed after pushing himself too hard.

Stupid of him.

Glancing around the simply decorated wooden interior of the room, he spotted a pair of other beds illuminated by sunlight pushing lazily through window through shut drapes. This must be one of the inn's rooms. And the innkeeper must have put him here.

He twisted around at the creak of a door opening, admitting a gormotti woman. The innkeeper from the night before.

"Ah, finally up are you?" She smiled and hefted a tray laden with food and drink. "Thought you might be hungry."

His stomach growled in concert with her statement, and he eagerly accepted the tray of food and started digging in. He noticed the innkeeper's eyes shoot up.

"Seems like I was spot on. I'll leave you to it,then. Be back in a bit." And she left room.

Couldn't really blame him, could she? He hadn't really had a proper meal since the events at the Ancient Ship. The memories stemmed his appetite, enough that he couldn't finish the whole thing. He set the tray aside, thinking.

When had he lost the pouch with Gramp's core crystal? He was pretty sure he'd still had it when he'd entered Torigoth last night, so when…?

The innkeeper came back in carrying a sack. "How long was I out?" he asked.

"It's past midday at this point."

"Midday?!"

"Seemed like you probably needed it. Once you finish there, I've half a mind to send you over to the local healer. They'll be able to fix you up proper with their healing Blade. Here." She hefted the bag, setting it down at the side of his bed nearest her. "I've taken the liberty of cleaning up your clothes while you were out as well."

The tips of his ears lit up as he realized he wasn't wearing anything except his underwear, and he pulled the blanket a further up. "Thanks." He averted his eyes. "But, well…how am supposed to pay you back? I don't have any money right now."

"Don't worry about it. Everyone gets one." She locked her eyes onto his and set her hands on her hips. "But no taking advantage of this, you hear? You want to stay another night, you're paying."

He nodded furiously. "Y-yes ma'am."

She straightened, smiling. "Good. Now get going."

* * *

"What do you mean he's not available?"

The nopon on the screen of the communications terminal shook his head. "Perhaps Rex misunderstand what Niranira say. Cannot let you speak to Chairman Bana because he not here. Left soon after departure of _Maelstrom_ on 'private business.'"

"This is important! Someone needs to know what happened."

"Hmmm." There was a pause as Niranira crossed his stubby nopon arms, thinking. The pause was filled in by the lull of other conversations happening on at other terminals in the building. "Normally would tell Rex to get in contact with Chairman's assistants, but they unavailable as well. Niranira has a feeling this not unconnected."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

The yellow furred nopon frowned. "It possible that current Chairman collaborating with these people, organization named 'Torna.'"

"Seriously?" That name sounded familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd heard it before. "But that's horrible!"

"Do not go spreading around. Only speculation for now. Not enough solid evidence to support theory yet. For now, Niranira part of Argentum intelligence division, so tell Niranira everything that happen."

He did. Every detail he could remember of the event of the huge salvaged ship and the members of the group he now knew as 'Torna.' Jin, Malos, Nia and the two Blades with the latter. He stopped, leaving out Gramps' death and his ordeal across Gormott to get to Torigoth.

"Hmm." The nopon closed his eyes in contemplation. "Is most troubling, especially girl with emerald core crystal. Will let families know of incident, as well as alert authorities."

Rex started tapping his foot impatiently. "Is there something I could do to help? I'm in Torigoth right now."

Niranira shook his head. "Unlikely. Truthfully, may be better for Rex to lay low in Torigoth rather than return to Argentum. Niranira will do what he can here."

"So you want me to do nothing?"

"Do not misunderstand. Rex is salvager, not fighter. Or perhaps Rex think he can take on Drivers single-handed? Or even find location when there no indication where they are?"

"Well, no, that's not what I meant, but-"

"Niranira needs time to process how best to use information Rex has given. For now, wait. Contact Niranira later."

The communication cut off and Rex leaned back in the chair in front of the now dormant terminal with a huff. So he should just do nothing? He sighed, and stood. A gormotti man took his place as he left. He closed the door to the building harder than necessary.

Sighing again, he leaned against the building letting the afternoon sun wash over him as he closed his eyes. What did he do now? Much as he didn't like it, Niranira was right about one thing. If he wanted to fight Torna, he needed more information and some way to fight them.

But it wasn't like he had a spare sword lying around, and if he did, it would've been on Gramps. All the savings he stored had been there too, save for the spending money in his pouch. Maybe if he asked around, he could pick up a quick local salvaging job?

Someone tapped him on his shoulder, jolting him out of his thoughts.

"Found you!"

It was the girl – Blade, he quickly realized from how she looked – from last night, smiling. Something clicked in his mind.

Had she…pickpocketed him? He opened his mouth to make ask a question, but stopped when she thrust out the very item he was looking for.

"You dropped this when I accidentally bumped into you last night."

"Oh. Uh thanks, I guess." He accepted the pouch, hesitantly. So, wait. She hadn't tried to pickpocket him? Something about this didn't feel right.

"Praxis, you coming?"

His attention was directed to another Blade. While not exactly the same shade, the ice-blue hair of the other one was close enough that they almost could almost be sisters. Honestly, he was distracted by just how cool both of them looked.

The Blade in front of him, Praxis apparently, rolled her visible eye. "On my way, Theory!"

He shook off the coolness factor and watched them go carefully for a moment, before shrugging. Not everything had to be against him. Not everything had to be laced with bad intentions, right? This was just a lucky break if there ever was one.

Opening the pouch up, he took a quick inventory of everything. Emergency tools and supplies, his money stash, a trinket he'd found on the ancient ship that he might be able to sell for some pocket change. He frowned, searched again still coming up short.

Gramps' core crystal was missing.

"Hey wait a minute," He ran up to the two Blades, stopping short of them. "You sure there wasn't anything else in here, right?"

They stopped and though it was subtle, Rex caught the glance shared between them, the way their stances shifted, tensed. Praxis looked over her shoulder and shrugged. Her smile felt far less innocent all of a sudden. "Sorry, this was how I found it. Wasn't any core crystal in there."

Rex's eyes narrowed. "Hang on. I didn't say anything about a core crystal." His hand reached back for his broadsword, before he remembered its fate, down at the bottom of the cloud sea at this point. He took a careful half-step back. Titan's foot, he'd rushed in without thinking again.

The other Blade's hand met her forehead, sighing. Rex's eyes widened as a katana formed in her hand. "This is what you get for feeling sorry for him, Praxis. So much for subtlety."

"Wait, what do you-"

His adrenaline surged and he rolled aside of a column of ice that spiked upwards where he had been standing.

"Hey, are you trying to kill me?!"

But the two were already running. He growled in frustration, and after a moment of indecision, started chasing after them.

* * *

" _Are you certain now is a wise time for this, majesty?"_

 _Emperor Niall nodded to her, a small unprofessional smile gracing his face. "Yes. Officially, you'll be on obligatory leave. No one will be able to object, since as far as I am aware, you've never taken a day off anyways."_

 _Mòrag felt her lips tug into a small frown. "Perhaps. I suppose I did mention traveling to Gormott to check a potential lead on Torna, but are you certain that this is a wise time for this? The senate will raise questions, objections at how sudden this is. Not only that, I'm especially worried about-"_

 _She cut off as he held up a hand for silence. "You've been working yourself to the bone maintaining order around the capital in these troubling times."_

" _Which is exactly why Brighid and I should remain here. I cannot protect you from these internal threats if I am not present, your majesty. Torna has never made a direct move on the capital, but Brionac may become emboldened when they discover my absence."_

" _I am aware of the possibility. But I cannot shake the feeling that the potential threat Torna poses extends beyond our borders. Indol agrees with my concerns, and were they on more cordial terms, I'm sure Uraya would as well."_

 _Her hands tightened in unprofessional annoyance at their parade rest behind her back. She quickly stopped when Brighid gave her a subtle nudge through their ether link, letting out a calming breath, remembering her duty. Architect, Niall looked so small on that throne._

" _I understand your worries, sister, but rest assured that Aegaeon and I can hold on our own against whatever the senate brings to bear as well as anything else that comes our way." A small smile graced Niall's lips. "And perhaps you could find time to use this as officially intended?"_

Obligatory leave.

Mòrag let out a soft laugh. Was Niall gaining a sense of humor? Shifting in her seat, she adjusted her hat and turned her attention back to the report on her desk.

The missive which Dughall had sent her shortly after her arrival yesterday morning would not normally be her first choice of how to spend her time. It was exaggerative propaganda on how well he was directing Torigoth's economic prosperity. Unfortunately for him, she already knew for a fact it was the current gormotti chieftain who was primarily responsible for that. Dughall was taking undue credit.

Despite that and his pompous attitude, he _was_ a trained Ardainian consul, with all the experience and discipline that came with that. Unfortunately, given that her time here would be relatively short, there was little she could do directly interfere.

A passing cloud momentarily blocked out the mid-afternoon sun shining in through the small window of her office, a remnant of the storm from last night. Though she itched to get outside, as Special Inquisitor, the sight of her walking around town would hinder, not help her current efforts. So, for now, she laid low, waiting.

She glanced up as a knock came on the small office she'd been given in the Ardainian Consulate building.

"Enter."

The door creaked open admitting a soldier in full armor. Her eyes flicked to the name on the plate attached to his uniform. Captain Padraig swiftly stood at attention after shutting the door behind him. "Lady Mòrag, pardon the interruption, but there's been an incident regarding the matter we discussed."

"So soon?" she muttered. Mòrag brushed aside Dughall's missive. Potentially course-correcting Dughall's pompousness could come later. "The core crystal hunters took our bait?"

"No, ma'am, not exactly."

Her eyes narrowed as she folded her hands under her chin. "Is that so? Explain."

"I received word that the two Blades in question were spotted in the area after a brief altercation with a boy exiting the public communications building. After a brief struggle in their favor they ran, with the boy giving chase."

"Possible destinations?"

"Out of town, possibly in the direction of Lascham Island."

"I see. Any information on the boy, or what his connections to them could be?"

"Nothing concrete yet, but it's likely he's from out of town, possibly Ardainian."

Interesting. Could it be infighting between thieves? Either way, this situation wasn't in their favor, and she needed to act quickly. "And Brighid?"

"The Jewel of Mor Ardain was already informed and is on route to intercept. You'll be joining in the pursuit?"

Mòrag adjusted her hat as she stood. "Yes. I will temporarily join with your regiment, captain, following the basic plan I outlined earlier. Remember, we need to capture the Blades and question them, not scare them off. The ether nets are ready, I presume?

"Of course, ma'am!"

"Then dismissed."

"Ma'am!" Padraig let off a smart salute, which she returned before both of them left.

* * *

 _# Initiating automatic data retrieval sequence  
_

 _# working…  
_

 _# Errors detected.  
_

 _# Connection to Trinity Processor Core 'Ontos' failed  
_

 _# Connection to Trinity Processor Core 'Logos' successful.  
_

 _# Warning: Severe damaged detected. Data corruption detected. Attempting recovery:  
_

 _# working...  
_

 _# Attempt partially successful: parsing available data for review.  
_

 _# Connection to Trinity Processor Core 'Pneuma' successful. Data retrieval successful.  
_

 _# Caution: Split detected in Trinity Processor Core 'Pneuma'.  
_

 _# All other data collection processes normal._

* * *

A beat too steady to be her heart thrummed around her sternum. Consciousness returned in a sudden _whoomph_ and Lora's eyes shot open. She quickly sat up-

"Ugh!"

And promptly smacked her nose into the unyielding glass above her. She recoiled back, knees curling up as she clutched her nose. There was a muffled cry of pain from someone else nearby, followed by the muted sound of something shattering. Voices started arguing.

Pulling her hand away from her face, she gingerly prodded what felt like a nasty bruise in the making. Thankfully, her hand didn't come away with any blood, and her nose didn't feel broken but _wow_ that was tender. Still not the worst way she had ever woken up, but it was certainly up there.

She blinked away the pain and looked around, noting the green ether particles floating about in the enclosed space. She couldn't move much, but wasn't restrained, just confined in what was starting to remind her of a coffin.

Fortunately, before any claustrophobia could set in, the glass above her swung upwards and the green-tinged ether dispersed into the air.

Sitting up, the sounds of humming machinery mixed with the dulcet tones of people arguing filled her ears. She looked over to the source to see Pyra was talking with someone she had never seen before – a black-haired man in bright blue and black armor that looked Tornan made.

In between them, a broken plate with still steaming food spilled out over the metal floor. Was that man a remnant of Addam's militia, or maybe part of his brother's?

She frowned. What was his name?

Ah, whatever. She really couldn't be bothered to remember. Jin could probably tell her. He was always better at remembering stuff like that anyways. Oddly, she didn't spot him around.

"We can save this argument for later, Pyra. It seems the leading lady has awoken." The man in Tornan armor walked over to her, giving her an appraising look. His eyes stopping at her aching nose, before they flicked back and forth between her and Pyra, before adjusting a pair of red-rimmed glasses. "Well now, this is quite a twist now, isn't it?"

"Sorry?"

"Here, let me test a theory. Obrona, mind helping with a little bit of healing?"

A girl – a Blade, she quickly realized – flitted over near her, hovering slightly off the ground, going in lazy circles around the device she was situated in. "Only if you promise to make me the star of your next epic."

The man rolled his eyes. "As I've told you before, my muse doesn't simply bend to your whims. Now, Pyra, stop fretting over the spill and come here. I need you in sight to confirm this."

Pyra seemed to hesitate a moment before letting out a sigh and nodded. "Alright." She was tenderly rubbing her nose which looked like it was bruising. Odd for a Blade.

Doubly strange that it was in the same spot as her own injury. "Pyra, where did you get that?"

Pyra gently shook her head as she approached. "I don't know. One moment I was walking and the next, my nose felt like it had been punched." Her eyes widened when came close enough to spot Lora's injury, and she rushed the rest the way over, fretting.

That felt weird, coming from her.

"And we get to the crux of the matter. Watch each other closely for a moment. Obrona, if you would?"

The man's Blade lifted her hand which emitted a soft greenish-yellow glow. The throbbing ache in her nose lessened, before it stopped completely, tingling with the hum of electricity. As it happened to her the bruise on Pyra's nose disappeared as well.

She caught him muttering, "Aegises truly are a world apart."

"What do you mean?"

"It seems your fate is now inexplicably tied to hers, even more so than that of any normal Driver and Blade. If I had to guess, it works both ways. When one of you become injured, the other will experience a mirror image of that pain."

She turned to Pyra. "Wait, so you felt it when I banged my nose against the glass?

"That's what it was? No wonder it hurt so much. But, it's okay. I should have realized what sharing my core crystal with you would mean."

A spot near her sternum under her clothes thrummed. Lora turned to the man. "So, who are you? I don't think I caught your name."

"Ah, my mistake." The man swept into a theatrical bow. "I am the legendary Ahkos, and the Blade flitting about you is my understudy, Obrona. To answer what will undoubtedly be your next question, this," he threw his arms out in a sweeping, grand gesture to the open space about them, "is the secondary bridge of the modified Tornan warship, the _Marsanes_."

It certainly looked impressive, even if she couldn't even begin to guess what anything did. Her gaze stopped above her. "…Why is there a hole in the ceiling?"

She heard Pyra clear her throat, an embarrassed looking smile on her face. "Actually, that was my doing. There was some, ah…fighting when we woke up."

"Yes, blasting a hole in the ceiling, damaging intricate machinery. Our resident mechanic and his assistants want a word with you when you get a moment."

"I said I was sorry…"

"You told that to me, but don't think I've not noticed you steadfastly avoiding them. But I suppose that may be none of my business." Ahkos turned his attention back to her. "Well, no matter. By the way, Lora, indulge my medical curiosity for a moment. How are you feeling?"

"Uh, fine, I suppose." Her nose was certainly better. Lora tilted her head."Why do you ask?"

"A few reasons. First, you've been out for nearly a week since you awakened."

"That long?" She'd taken long snoozes before after a staying up too long before, but a week?

"Quite. Secondly, the device you're sitting on was designed primarily for Blades. Flesh Eaters to be exact, so I wondered if it had done it's work correctly." He glanced at Pyra, specifically at her core crystal. "Though, perhaps in your case, it was close enough."

"I guess?" Was this device being used for Jin? That was...worrying if that was the case.

"Finally, and well," Ahkos sighed. "There's no real good way to break this to you easily, so I'll deliver it straight. You've been essentially frozen in suspended animation, situated in many places, but most recently here, for the past four hundred and ninety-four years."

An involuntary squeak escaped out her mouth. "But that's…you've...but I…" She glanced over to Pyra. "Is that really true?"

Pyra nodded, not quite meeting her eyes.

She took a breath. Well, that was certainly something. Something she could deal with later. Letting the breath out, she swung her legs and placed her boots firmly on the metal floor, stretching out her arms in front of her, earning satisfying popping noises.

"Well, whatever the case, I feel pretty good for someone who's past five hundred. I don't feel a day under five-hundred twenty-one."

Ahkos crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "You seem to be taking this in stride."

"However it happened, I'm here now, right?" She glanced down forlornly at the mess of delicious looking, _meaty_ smelling nosh gone to waste on the floor, and her empty stomach squashed in protest. She hadn't felt this hungry since…

She frowned. Since something. The memory wouldn't fully come. Odd.

Shaking her head, she gestured to the food on the floor. "Hopefully this isn't rude, but you don't happen to have more of that, do you? I'm absolutely starving."

"But of course. That was yours before your timely awakening. Let's retire to someplace a little more suited for talking. There's more back in the kitchen if you feel you can stand."

* * *

Lora inhaled deeply, drinking in the heavenly scent. "Did Jin make this?"

"Jin?" Ahkos cocked an eyebrow, spoon hovering close to his mouth as he gave her an odd look. "What gave you that impression?"

Pyra spoke up before Lora could respond as she dished out a portion for herself. "No, that was me. I remembered that you like ruby-stew buloofo. It's not an exact replica but the ingredient substitutions turned out just fine."

"O-oh, really?" She put on a strained smile, unease forming in her empty gut as she gazed at the plate full of deliciousness in front of her, suddenly skeptical. It didn't _look_ horrible. In fact, it looked absolutely amazing. But some of Mythra's concoctions looked well enough, but had still put Addam out of commission for the night.

Though, she supposed, Pyra wasn't exactly Mythra.

In the end, her stomach won over. She stuck the spoon in her mouth.

And positively melted in her seat at the meaty explosion of flavor. She honestly couldn't eat the rest of it fast enough. It and seconds were gone within minutes. Finishing off the last bite, she leaned back satisfied into her chair. She glanced at Pyra, who was busy finishing off her own smaller portion.

"Where did you learn how to cook like this, Pyra?"

"U-uh. Well, you know…I just, followed a recipe."

"Really? Well I'm happy for you." Her stomach was happy too, of course. She turned to Ahkos who had turned to jotting something down in a small notebook. "So, is there some way I could get a crash course on what's been happening in the past five-hundred years or so?"

"That would take quite a while. Luckily, Jin asked me to prepare something for you."

"Oh, no need to go too deep. Just the important bits are fine."

A new voice entered the conversation. "How about I help fill you in?"

Lora felt chills go down her spine at the sound of that voice.

Her adrenaline spiked and she jumped out of the chair, knocking it up into the air with her knee before kicking it towards the source. She spun into a combat stance, Pyra already behind her, her warm, almost burning ether link established. An unfamiliar red sword blazed to life in her hand. Lora's hand went automatically to unwind her braided whip from her wrist.

It wasn't there.

Seeming to melt out of the shadows, Malos walked into view, smirking, an unfamiliar Blade coming in behind him. The chair she'd launched at him was caught in his hand. He set it down, and didn't attack, but instead leaned against the wall near the fridge, crossing his arms.

She heard Ahkos let out an annoyed sounding groan as his palm hit forehead.

"I'm flattered you remember me so fondly. Good to see you too, Lora."

* * *

 **A/N: Headcannon that Malos perfected dramatic timing to piss Ahkos off.**

 **Mòrag also says hi.**

 **[Edit 03/11/19]: If you're curious, the change was that a small addition of dialogue in Lora's first section to make the passage of time clearer, and another small bit of dialogue was added so that Ahkos transitioning to tell Lora about how she'd been frozen for 500 years feels more natural. That, and the detail that Pyra had been steadfastly avoiding most of the crew during that week.**

 **Hopefully this is the last time I feel I have to do this.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Finding a Reason**

* * *

 **A/N: Slight edits were made to last chapter to make timeline stuff more clear. More details in chapter three itself.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Lora chanced a quick glance over her shoulder past Pyra, confirming what she already knew. No other exit besides the open archway that lead into the kitchen area. She'd seen Malos' flaming artifice sink beneath the cloud sea, heard his agonized scream as he died from Mythra's last attack.

So how was he standing there now?

Her hands clenched, and her eyes searched for another makeshift weapon. Maybe her soup bowl? No, that was stupid. Malos' growing smirk on his face told her he knew exactly how much he was making her panic, and the effect he had on the small room.

She gritted her teeth. "What are _you_ doing here?"

She tensed as Malos lightly pushed off of the wall. She turned her body careful to keep him fully in view, eyes closely followed him as he…grabbed a bowl, walked over to the stove where the pot of still slightly steaming stew steaming slightly in its pot on the stove and ladled himself a helping into his bowl.

"What does it look like?"

It was such an innocent action, but the way he did it, like he was…taunting her, set her instincts aflame. The spot near her sternum and she felt something…funny. A tickling of fire in her head, connecting to a whisper of darkness.

Was that coming from Pyra's ether link? Or…

From atop the fridge where Obrona was perched, a wave of red ether spread outwards through the kitchen, and Lora stumbled as the ether link between her and Pyra abruptly cut. It felt like when Haze's power, but the sensation of the ether manipulation, it felt a little like she was choking.

"Much obliged, Obrona." Obrona cut off the field and Ahkos turned to her. "Now I know you're still new, Lora, but please, no fighting in my kitchen. We've lost enough seats in the past as it is." He sighed, turning in his seat to glare at Malos. "I thought I specifically told you to stay away until I had a chance to fully explain the situation."

"Wait," Lora took an angry step forward towards Ahkos, eyes narrowed, "you _knew_ Malos was here?"

Ahkos raised an eyebrow. "Of course. This is his home as well after all."

"He…lives here?"

"Same as the rest of Torna."

"Torna?" she muttered. Torna's people were still alive? Even after Spessia? Something about that didn't add up, but she also really needed to focus because Malos was still _in the room_ right now. She lightly shook her head, dispelling the thought. "But you know what he is, what he's done, right?"

Ahkos adjusted his lenses, and gave an unconcerned shrug. "Malos, one of the Aegises, colloquially known as the endbringer. Responsible for sinking at least three Titans during the Aegis war and causing havoc and mayhem throughout the whole of Alrest."

"Don't forget Noodler's Delight's new favorite customer!" Obrona had gone back nonchalantly dangling her legs over the edge of the fridge, swinging back them and forth in an uneven pattern. "Malos wouldn't shut up their argentum noodle soup after we first went. Too bad we won't be able to go back to Argentum there after they figure out what you did, hmm?"

"Shut up, you cocky little brat."

"Yes, yes, we're all aware of how disappointed you are they don't do take-out. Thank you, Malos." Ahkos turned back to her. "As you can see, I am _quite_ aware of his resume of past…misdeeds."

"Don't worry." Malos aggressively slurped down a bite of the stew, not bothering with a spoon. "I have no intention of harming Jin's _precious_ Driver. Should've seen the look he gave me when I even joked about it." He took another slurp, making a satisfied sound. "Yeah, no point messing with that, especially in my condition. All I'm doing is taking a lunch break." He gave a nod to Ahkos. "It's good, better than usual, even."

"Actually, it was Pyra who made it, not me."

Malos' eyebrows shot up. "Really now? Well, compliments to the chef _._ I didn't know you had it in you."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Pyra's hand clench, the material of her fingerless gloves creaking as her hand clutched her dormant sword tighter.

Lora flinched as Malos turned his attention back to her. "So, the new Driver of the Aegis fully awake at last. Honestly, I never thought it'd be you of all people, but maybe I shouldn't be surprised with eyes like that. Intentional or not, I can admire someone who cheats death."

Lora simply glared at him. This was more the Malos she was used to seeing. "I don't need your compliments."

Malos shrugged, taking another sip of stew. It was ridiculously rude. "So, do really understand the consequences of what you've done, making yourself her Driver?"

"No, but I don't really care what you think."

"Hmph. Fair enough. So what are you planning on doing? Follow Jin around while we prepare to go to Elysium?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You're going to Elysium?" Why did he want to go there too?

"Why so interested? Planning on going there yourself? Well, since we're headed that way too, maybe we could give you a lift?"

Pyra stepped forward, moving past Lora. "And why would we ever accept that, after everything you've done? Why would Jin even associate with you after that?"

The humor drained from Malos' face. "And you couldn't be bothered to ask him yourself? Coward. You actually think you still know Jin?"

"And you think you do?"

"Yes."

Lora hadn't felt the familiar icy tug of his ether link since she'd passed out, which was strange. He'd always send a cold nudge if he was near her, his way of reassuring her when she'd been little fresh out of that horror. She'd never asked him to stop and over the years it had become his own little way of reassuring her that he was always there for her.

Lora cut in. "Where is he?"

"Out." Ahkos answered. "After two days of brooding and generally getting in the way while I was caring for you while you were recovering, we sent him to raid an Ardainian Battleship."

Lora's eyes widened. "What?! But Jin would never do something like that." She _knew_ he didn't particularly like fighting, so then why…

"Is that what you really think?" Malos crossed one arm finishing off the last of the stew in his bowl. "You think a man wouldn't change in five-hundred years? You should be ashamed, especially since you're the one who broke him."

"What are you talking about? I would never do anything to harm-"

She cut off as Malos slammed his bowl to the floor, shattering it. Ahkos' hand pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You're so selfish, both of you!" Malos glared at her. "You just couldn't _bear_ the thought of being forgotten, not even thinking about what it would do to him, the agony that he would go through. And now you have the gall to think that you think you can just pick back up where you left off when you last saw him and have _nothing_ be different?"

She…didn't know how to respond to that. The silence, heavy in the air was telling.

After another moment, he turned to Pyra. "And you. You left the world to rot after you couldn't handle the consequences of your own power!"

Lora shook off the guilt enough to focus and cut in, jumping to defend her. "That was only after _you_ provoked her."

"Yes."

She was slightly taken aback, not expecting for him to actually agree with her so readily.

"I had a part in that. But that doesn't excuse her _letting_ that bastard Tornan prince sealing her away so she could hide from her problems. You still are, aren't you, Mythra?"

Ahkos rose from his seat. "As much as I'd like to see how this drama develops, we're getting off top-"

"Shut up, and _sit down,_ Ahkos. I'm not finished."

Ahkos wisely complied. Obrona giggled from atop the fridge.

Malos took a deep breath and got quieter. "After our battle and after I reconstructed myself, do you want to know how Jin was when I found him? Broken. A husk of a man. I barely recognized him. He kept his promise to never let you go, but in the end all it did was break him. I gave him new direction, purpose, a reason to live. But now that you're alive, I…" He broke off with an exasperated grunt, slamming his fist into the side of the wall.

He almost sounded… jealous? But that couldn't be right. This was _Malos._

"Maybe so, but that still doesn't explain why Jin would do something like raid a battleship. Why he would even listen to you in the first place."

Malos let out a long breath, rubbing a hand over a piece of armor covering his core crystal. "These things were so much easier to explain when I had access to up-to-date information."

"Huh?"

"Let's start with something easy. You ever heard of core crystal cleansing?"

* * *

" _I doubt she'll agree, Jin. You can't have both. Sooner or later, you're going to have to choose."_

An ardainian soldier slumped to the ground, not even given enough time to cry out before their life ended.

Live for her.

Fulfill Malos' ambition.

The two contradicting promises raged in a blizzard, swirling around in a storm in his head.

Jin flicked his nodachi to the side and continued to walk steadily forward, even as other soldiers noticed him, raised the alarm, shouting orders, shooting. The ship's alarm began blaring, the sounds warped because of his speed. The incoming soldiers movements were slow, almost comically so, or so it seemed to him.

Of course, nothing about this raid was humorous. He blocked out the noise, the screams, all while moving out of the way and blocking their bullets more on instinct rather than truly paying any real attention to it.

The actions moment by moment were empty.

His body was _moving_ , slicing through the guards on the core crystal shipment ship faster than they can see him move his weapon. But his mind is already back on the _Marsanes._

Live for her.

Fulfill Malos' ambition.

His weapon carved through the thick metal bulkhead in front of him, slicing though with ridiculous ease. The ardainian soldiers behind it stood shocked to stillness for a moment until one of them barked an order over the still blaring alarm. The soldiers shot.

It made no difference. He kept walking, moving around and his weapon through.

A hatch opened and out poured Drivers and their Blades. The added challenge takes only a little more effort to overcome, and within moments the Blades clatter to the floor, returned to core crystals after their Drivers slump to the floor, dead.

Live for her.

Fulfill Malos' ambition.

He knows he can't do both. He's seen the world for what it was. But seeing Lora again. That smile.

He touched his horned white mask.

After so long living with the grief, the want, he thought he'd moved on, or at least with Malos, found a new sense of purpose. He thought he'd found a reason for his existence.

Jin blinked, coming to his senses. The sight of the shipments of core crystals from Mor Ardain to Indol made Lora's heart thump angrily in his chest.

Or at least at one point, that's what he'd convinced himself it was. Her anger at seeing the cores treated like bottles on a shelf, tools of war, not beings. A sign she agreed with his actions, if only slightly.

He wasn't so sure anymore.

At one point, centuries ago he'd thought words might reach the people of Alrest, convince them logically of what the core crystal cleansing process was really doing, how unnatural it was. How it was both driven by lust for power, for extra tools to wage warfare while ignoring the treatment of Blades along with the broader ramifications.

If you reset Blades, they couldn't grow into Titans. And without Titans, you'd have no place to live.

The book he'd once written explaining its importance was buried, forgotten like so many of old Torna's teachings. The people he'd once convinced of its importance were long dead by the Praetorium.

After centuries of trying, he'd shrunk into himself and from the sidelines, he'd watched Alrest's steady decline.

Yet now that by some blessing – or maybe it was a curse? – of the Architect, he's doesn't know what to think. Lora is only alive because of the Aegis. But he despises Mythra her for what she left to rot.

But she also brought Lora back.

An impossibility.

A contradiction.

Live for her.

He'd tried for centuries, until he couldn't do it anymore. Until Malos had come along, he hadn't cared enough to do anything.

Fulfill Malos' ambition.

He promised to get revenge on the ones who were at the root of it. Amalthus and the Architect. He, Malos and the rest of Torna, his new family, would make that a reality. He'd convinced himself that Lora would agree. Maybe she would still.

He glanced behind him at the carnage he'd caused.

Or, maybe she wouldn't.

The blizzard in his mind raged on.

* * *

"Malos sure is taking his bloody sweet time. Slacking off when he's part of the reason we have to do this in the first place."

"Patience is a virtue, milady."

"Yeah, and so is being punctual." Another minute passed. Nia handed Mikhail another tool for the section of wiring he was fixing when he asked for it. She let out an irritated sigh. "You mind going down and seeing what's going on, Dromarch?"

Dromarch, bless 'im, just bobbed his head, and with an 'Of course, milady,' padded off towards further into the _Marsanes_ towards the kitchen. Beast-type Blade as he was, he unfortunately wasn't too useful for things that required fingers.

As the newest member of Torna, she was often stuck being the one who just helped out everyone with whatever needed doing. Even things she basically knew nothing about.

She looked back to Mikhail, who was now leaning casually against the wall with what he probably thought was a suave smile stuck on his face. "So, now that we're alone, Nia, how about you and me go find a little place to-"

"Shut your mouth Mik, or I'll shove it so far up your ar-"

A loud clanging noise across the deck made her jump and Cressidus looked over from where he'd dropped a stack of paneling near where she and Mikhail were working.

"My bad." The Blade rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Try to be a little more careful with those, buddy. They're delicate." Mikhail called as Cressidus went to back deeper into the _Marsanes_.

"Mik, it's just wall panels. It's not like they're gonna snap if you just look at them funny."

"Show's what you know. You bend or dent these guys and the whole wall will look wrong."

"Ah, whatever. Why can't that Pyra girl help out too, eh? She's one of the ones who did this and Aegis or not, she's a fire Blade. So why can't she help us weld or something?"

His demeanor shifted. "Yeah, uh…no thanks."

A cheeky grin lit her face. "What, did try to ask her out and she rejected you or something? Embarrassed, much?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "No it's…complicated."

"Well, it's not like we've got much else to talk about. Go on."

"Pass."

Her grin faded. And she huffed in annoyance. "Ugh. They're taking so long. How have you put up with Malos for so long?"

Mikhail paused, the tool she'd handed him poised to connect a couple of electrical wires.

"Eh, why'd you stop?"

"You know. There was a time when I couldn't stand Malos."

"You mean every day then?"

"I'm being serious, Nia." He started twisting the new wires together, and though she wasn't an electrician or whatever they were called, it felt like to her that he kept going for longer than was necessary.

He capped off the wire and moved along to the next damaged panel while she heaved a fresh one from the pile Cressidus had brought in into place, and started screwing it in. Malos and Sever would weld them in place whenever they got back.

"Long before you were awakened, I had something like a family. We weren't related by blood, and honestly we traveled more than I liked, but I came to love them like I hadn't anyone before. My childhood before they took me in was hell, but so were a lot of kid's. You know why?"

It wasn't hard to guess. "Malos?"

"Yeah, Malos. One of the Titans he sank was my home. Mythra, or Pyra as she's calling herself, took part in that. Then after Indol mopped up the surviving Tornan and I was left alone."

"You're talking about the Aegis War from five hundred years ago." Nia looked away, crossing her arms. "But that doesn't explain how you can tolerate him. If anything, by the sound of it, you should hate his guts."

"It really doesn't, does it? To be honest, I'm not even sure I know anymore." He let out another big sigh. "There's another thing too. What do you do when suddenly someone you thought was dead comes back into your life?"

They both went silent.

He was talking about the woman in the icicle. The one everyone had refused to talk about until now. Ahkos had asked for her opinion on her health while she was recovering in one of Jin's medical tube things, clearly breathing. Her name was, Lora, maybe?

"That's…not something I can really answer for you, Mik."

"Yeah, I guess. Sorry I asked."

* * *

Lora fiddled with one of her gloves, still refusing to sit, not quite making eye contact with Malos. "If what you're saying is true, then yes. I agree that it absolutely needs to be stopped."

"You see what I mean?"

" _If._ I need proof."

"Why not wait for Jin to get back and confirm it? Or better yet, why not go to Indol and see for yourself? I bet the Praetor would just _love_ to see you."

The tension in the small kitchen was still so thick it was almost choking. If she could, Lora would have left ages ago, but the Blade following Malos was still blocking the way out. Atop the fridge Obrona had started humming, ready in case someone tried something, but otherwise tuned out into her own little world.

Right now, Lora envied her.

A hand landed on her shoulder and Lora turned to see Pyra. Eyes closed, faced scrunched in concentration.

Another pulse from her sternum, another tickle of fire in her mind, followed by a distant jumble of so many things that her head started hurting. She clutched the side of her head with one hand, wincing.

"Pyra, what are you…?"

Pyra opened her eyes, and the uncomfortable sensation stopped. "Malos may be telling the truth. The data, the experiences that funnel back to me from core crystals over Alrest it's...there are so many are blank slates. Far more than there should be. And some of the data I'm getting from the Blades." She shook her head sadly, taking her hand off of Lora's shoulder and putting it over her heart. "There are so few ready to become Titans. Compared to back then, it's…"

Lora didn't really understand how Pyra knew that, but she trusted her enough to know she probably knew what she was talking about.

Malos crossed his arms. "So, what are you going to do?"

She was silent. Did she really have to be the one who chose this?

"Lora?" Pyra asked.

Lora bit her lip, thinking. "It sounds like this ritual needs to stop, but I need to see the world for myself. Five hundred years is a long time, but it can't be as bad as you're saying."

"You've been out of the loop for a while. So, go, and see for yourself all the awful things that humanity has done to the world. I think you'll come to the same conclusions I did."

A white beast-type Blade poked in past Malos' Blade. "Pardon the interruption, but my lady and Mikhail request your presence, master Malos."

Her heart lurched. It couldn't be the same Mikhail, could it? He was human, like her. Her head hurt, trying to remember something that wouldn't come.

"Oh do they now?" The beast Blade stayed silent in the face of Malos' comment, simply sitting on his haunches and starting. "Well, if they insist." He turned back to Lora before he left. "See you around."

She let out a huge whoomph of air once the sound of his and the Blades' footsteps faded. She felt tired, even though she'd just woken up not too long ago. One of Pyra's hands, warm clutching her shoulder in a suppotyive manner. "Are you alright, Lora?"

"I'll be fine. I just..." She shook her head. "I really need to get out this room now." Out of this ship, and into fresh air if possible.

Ahkos stood. "Malos does have a flair for the dramatic when he wants too. Mixed in with the presence he brings into a room, it's quite something isn't it?" He adjusted his lenses, putting on a smug looking smirk. "Of course, it's nowhere near as refined as my own work."

Obrona flitted down from the fridge and began hovering around him. "I know a jealous tone when I hear one."

Ahkos rolled his eyes, ignoring her. "Well, I suppose we can call this a scene for now. I'll show you to the room Jin prepared for you, if you'd like."

"I don't suppose there's a balcony I could go to? I need some air."

"Sadly we're submerged beneath the cloud sea right now, but once repairs are finished, we're heading near Mor Ardain to check the out one of our ventures. That will likely be the soonest we'll breach."

"And Jin?"

"He'll be back soon."

"Alright." It wasn't fine, but she'd live.

She wished Jin was here.

* * *

 **A/N: Malos makes everyone uncomfortable while saying some hard mostly-truths. Lora isn't the best at this kind of thing, but at least she speaks from the heart.**

 **No Rex this chapter for two reasons. One, I felt it would take away from the impact of what was going on, and two, well...**

 **Unfortunately, I have to announce a hiatus for all my stories. I'll be back March 2021.**

 **As for the reason, I'm going to a place for a job where my free time is going to dive off a cliff and die for about two years. (It's not a bad thing, just part of the job). I won't have consistent access to the internet/computers during that time either, so I'm just putting this on hold while I finish that. I've been planning it for a while, but only recently nailed down the timing. I'm generally not one to talk about my personal life in my stories, but I didn't want people to wonder why my stories went dark for so long.**

 **For those that stick around, 'Looks Like We're Out of Snacks' is far from out of snackage. Please don't let that deter you from commenting/reviewing the chapter. I love hearing from you all.**

 **See you then.**


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